(Beijing) What do the CAQ government and the Chinese Communist Party have in common? Both want to develop more good hockey players on their territory. We hope that Quebec will experience more success than China has experienced since the launch of its project six and a half years ago.
Posted at 1:30 p.m.
In anticipation of the Beijing Games, China has spent billions of yuan to spur the growth of skating sports, such as hockey. A pharaonic investment. Over 500 new indoor rinks have been built. Quick calculation: that’s a new ice cream every five days!
The Chinese have implanted hockey in schools. They founded academies. They hired foreign coaches. They invited Canadian, Russian and Swedish teenagers to offer better opposition to young local players. One of my children went there; the ten nights at the hotel cost nothing.
During the same period, Beijing obtained a franchise in the KHL. The Red Star Kunlun. The club has hired a roster of Stanley Cup winners to oversee the development of its players. Including Mike Keenan, Alexei Kovalev, Slava Kozlov, and Bobby Carpenter. This season, the club has become a mirror of the Chinese national team.
So how are you ?
Wrong.
Very bad.
The team is last in the KHL. The young hopes born in China are slow to hatch. We saw it coming. At the World Championship in 2019, the Chinese were beaten by the Serbs, Croats, Australians and Spaniards. It needed reinforcements – and quickly – in view of the Beijing Games. Otherwise, China risked losing their games by 50 points.
China then began to actively recruit former National League players. She convinced five: Brandon Yip, Jeremy Smith, Jake Chelios, Spencer Foo and Ryan Sproul. She also recruited other foreigners of Chinese descent. In the Olympic team, there are 11 Canadian citizens, four Americans and one Russian. They are the heart of the Chinese team, which lost 5-0 on Sunday against Canada.
Frankly, lucky they were there. Because players born in China have hardly played. Even, for some of them, not at all.
Game time of players born in China
- Zesen Zhang: 6:37
- Wei Zhong: 5 min 30 sec
- Rudy Ying: 4:52
- Juncheng Yan: 2 min 31 s
- Ruinan Yan: 01 min 4 sec
- Zimeng Cheng: no seconds
- Xudong Xiang: no seconds
“Our big problem is our lack of depth,” explained China head coach Ivano Zanatta. That’s why he was forced to employ attackers 22, 23, 24, 25 minutes. The strategy worked. China delivered a fine opposition, and avoided humiliation.
“I’ll give them credit, they fought really well,” admitted Canadian forward Corban Knight. Head coach Claude Julien also underlined the tenacity of his opponents. “They seem to be improving [de match en match]. They didn’t give up. They work hard. They had their chances to score. I think they played well. The Chinese team even managed to direct 26 shots towards the Canadian net. But let’s be realistic: lucky the NHL players weren’t there. Against Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Huberdeau, it would have been a terrible massacre.
* * *
Over a decade, with investment, a country can develop two or three exceptional athletes in disciplines that require routine. Think of divers, gymnasts or weightlifters. This is also one of China’s strengths. According to a compilation of New York Timesthree quarters of the gold medals won by China at the Summer Games since 1984 have come from six disciplines: diving, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting, badminton and table tennis.
What is more difficult is to develop in a short period of time a large number of talented athletes in the same sport. China struggles to do so. Not just in hockey. In all team sports except women’s volleyball.
World Rank of Chinese Teams
- Women’s Volleyball 3and
- Women’s Basketball 7and
- Women’s water polo 10and
- Women’s Soccer 19and
- Women’s Hockey 20and
- Men’s Volleyball 22and
- Men’s water polo 25and
- Men’s Basketball 29and
- Men’s Hockey 32and
- Women’s Handball 40and
- men’s soccer 75and
- Men’s Handball 78and
Yet China is the most populous country in the world, with 1.4 billion people. The critical mass is there. The government invests a lot in its infrastructure, as well as in the development of athletes.
The problem ? The vast majority of parents withdraw their children from sports competition when they enter secondary school, explained to me the Quebec coach Henri Izard, who has already taught hockey to the Chinese. The funnel then becomes so narrow that the pool of athletes never fills up.
This is reflected in the number of registrations. There are just over 10,000 federated players in all of China. And less than 1000 hockey players over 20 years old. It’s almost nothing.
How to change this?
“We need programs for young people, replied Ivano Zanetta. Successes will not happen overnight. You hope kids and fans watch games like tonight’s, and that you manage to pique their interest. »
While waiting to have a critical mass of local players, China will have no choice but to continue to use foreign players, he believes.
“When you start, you have to find a balance [entre les étrangers et les locaux]. Germany has gone through this stage. I’ve also been there with the Italy program. You have to be patient. Players cannot learn everything from a coach. They must be in contact with the best players. This is how you improve. This is the key to leveling up. »
Canada will face China again on Tuesday at 8 a.m. (Montreal time) in a playoff game. The winner will face Sweden the next day.